I had been formulating this article for a while but with today's announcement of USL creating a new 3rd Division league to go along with their current 2nd Division one (and a potential competitor to SUM in their media company)...
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It seems like the perfect time to lay out why RIGHT NOW is the perfect time for the USSF to create an independent directly USSF sanctioned Division 3 league outside of the influence of the For Profit league structure currently in place for professional soccer in the United States.
1) There is not currently a Division 3 league in the United States. The jump from the Amateur/Semi-Pro "Division 4" leagues to USL/NASL is a huge one. There needs to be an intermediary step for clubs to grow in to as they progress up the pyramid.
2) A Federation sanctioned and administered Division 3 league will greatly reduce start up and operational costs for clubs as it can be "Expansion Fee" free and additional "League Fees" free (above already instituted USSF professional league fees). Reduction of costs for clubs allows them more wiggle room when it comes to budgetary concerns and allows for an overall strengthening of the entire division of soccer through the investment of that capital in to clubs instead of it being removed via fees.
3) With the league being administered without the necessary pressures of expansion fee and league fee creation the Federation's 3rd Division can operate with the interests of its member clubs being the sole reason to make decisions. Making these decisions based on the best interests of clubs in the United States instead of the desire of the owners for profit generation by the league will be a positive for all the clubs involved. Often times, these two decision making processes do not see eye to eye.
4) Placing control of the 3rd Division with the Federation removes any desire for the league to exert pressure on USSF to gain some sort of competitive advantage in the marketplace over other leagues. This also gives the Division 3 a high level of stability for clubs to grow and invest in.
5) Every item listed so far can also be directly applied to USASA concerning a full season Division 4 and 5 allowing an integrated national League and Non-League structure to start to be put in place. It is important that we move away from the For Profit league system in the amateur and semi-pro soccer divisions as well.
5) Having USSF and USASA controlling the Division 3/4/5 and the State Associations having control over Division 6 and lower will allow great ease in the future for integration of the entire pyramid with #ProRelForUSA.
This is by no means an exhaustive list of reasons why it is important for both the USSF to control the Division 3 level of the pyramid and for USASA to control the Division 4 and 5 full season levels of the pyramid. I would love to hear your opinion other reasons why the Federation should take control of the 3rd Division.
Please let us know your ideas in the comment section below or on social media using the #ProRelForUSA hashtag.
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